A Place to Belong
by Brightcrest
Summary: -FF IV- Everyone needs somewhere to belong. Sometimes you're born where you're meant to be. Other times you don't find it until much later. Edge/Rydia
1. Chapter I: Letting it Out

**And this is why I shouldn't overplay games. Too late now.**

**Anyway, as you might have figured out from the summary, this is basically a sort-of rewrite of the end of Final Fantasy IV where Edge and Rydia finally get together. Only it's not really a rewrite of the ending, nor does it even start there. Whatever.**

**Since the two of them are actually spitting out their feelings, it kinda ignores The After Years. HOWEVER, I have plans to rewrite that as well. Just don't expect that to be up right after this finishes.**

**What else... oh yeah, I'm messing with the character's ages. I wasn't happy with most of them already, but then I found out that the twins are five. FIVE. There's no way that's true. (Though it would be payback for Cecil taking the water crystal...) Cecil and Kain are 22, Edge and Rosa 21, Rydia 18 (after 10 years in the Feymarch), and the twins are 10 or 11 (can't decide). **

**I think that's it for now. Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: ****Yeah right.**

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**A Place to Belong**

**Chapter I: Letting it Out**

Saying that the group was tired would be a giant understatement. On the verge of a newborn being able to push them to the ground would be more like it.

So it was agreed between the heroes that stopping in Agart after tunneling out of the Underworld before dragging themselves to Mysidia would be a good idea. (Okay, that's technically not true. Edge had suggested it and Rydia had agreed with him. Cecil and Rosa hadn't said anything and just followed them.) That way they would be in a semi-presentable state when they met the Elder.

Of course, that only worked if they could, you know, _get _to sleep without being woken by nightmares a few minutes after closing their eyes- something that was currently affecting the last summoner.

Rydia sighed as she walked up the stairs to the Inn's roof. Ever since they had entered the Sealed Cave, she'd been seeing absolute horrors in her dreams. Horrors of the entire world burning like Mist had. Horrors of seeing her friends die right before her eyes. Horrors of having the Eidolons turn against her.

And worse of all, there were horrors of Golbez controlling _him _instead of Kain, forcing her to strike him down- which was far worse than the others, because they forced her to admit something she'd been trying to deny for a couple weeks now.

The Summoner pushed open the door, stopping before going before it, seeing that she hadn't been the only one who had problems going to sleep.

Edge was sitting on the side of the roof with his back to the door, staring out into the town. Rydia tried to back up and close the door without him noticing, but just as she started to do that he called out and said, "You know, you don't have to leave just because I'm out here."

She grimaced. _Stupid Ninja. _"I figured you wanted to be alone," she said.

"I just came out here to clear my head. You're welcome to stay. I don't really care," He said, turning his head and looking at her for a moment before staring back over the village.

Rydia blinked, surprised. _What's wrong with him? Usually he'd say something suggestive or sarcastic… Maybe I should go and leave him alone. But… _she thought, looking back at the ninja.

She sighed, walking out onto the roof and closing the door behind her. She sat down next to him, pulling her knees up under her chin and staring out at the silent town ahead of her.

They sat in silence for several minutes, Edge looking like he was going to ask something several times but never did. Finally, he asked, "Do you still have nightmares about Mist?"

Rydia looked at him, surprised. Of all the things he could've asked, she really hadn't expected that. He was looking at anywhere but her, a tormented look on his face that was clear even through the mask covering most of his face. "Sometimes," she admitted. "It has gotten better and I don't see it happen as often anymore, but those nightmares have been replaced by once that are just as bad."

"But they don't go away, do they?"

She shook her head. "Not completely." She looked at him, trying to get him to look back at her. "Edge… do you…?"

"I see what Lugae did to them every other night it seems." He said. "Sometimes it's not even them, but you or one of the others, and all of them turn out the same way- begging me to kill you. Sometimes I even wonder why I keep trying to convince myself that it will all go away someday, because it sure doesn't seem like it ever will."

Rydia's heart broke a little for him. While she had seen her mother fall in front of her when her dragon died, it didn't even begin to compare to the twisted creatures Lugae forced his parents to become. "Edge… if you want me to tell you that the pain goes away, it never does," she said to him. "But the pain does become easier to bear overtime. And besides, Lugae is dead. He can't do that to anyone else."

"You're right, but…"

"But what? There's nothing he can do to you anymore. And besides, you're not alone now."

He smiled at her, pulling down his mask as he did so. "Thank you, Rydia."

"Y-you're welcome," she stammered, shocked that he took off his mask, which she'd only seen him do once, and that was to fix it after it had gotten torn in a battle.

"So… now that we've got my problems out of the way, mind telling me why you've been out of sorts since we left the Feymarch?"

She blushed. He had noticed? "N-nothing's wrong," she quickly denied.

Edge rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. I told you my problems, now it's your turn."

"Why do you assume that I have problems?" she shot back at him.

"Well, there is the fact that you keep overly denying the fact, which obviously means that something's up." When she kept glaring at him, he sighed. "Look, if you really don't want to tell me, then don't. But keeping it a secret won't help matters."

She looked away and grimaced. _As much as I don't want to admit it, he's right. Keeping it to myself won't help. And he did tell me his problems and let me see a different side to him, _she thought. She sighed and began, "It… actually came up earlier. It just didn't sink in until I was there.

"When I left the Feymarch to rejoin Cecil and the others, Asura told me that while they loved me and would be thrilled if I came back and visited them, I can't ever go back and live with them. They told me that I belonged with my own kind and that they didn't want to take away any more of my life than they had. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but going back and seeing all of them again…" she whispered, tears threatening to fall.

She was surprised when Edge pulled her into a hug. "Edge!" she yelped.

He ignored her and instead said, "Don't worry about it. If worse comes to worst, you can always come to Eblan and yell at me to actually do my job," he said.

"That's not what I want… or at least, not all of it," she muttered to herself.

He heard and pulled back enough to look at her. "Then what _do _you want?" he asked.

Rydia debated about whether she should admit it or not. _Oh, screw it. What do I have to lose? _"This," she said before she kissed him.

It barely lasted a second before she pulled away and looked in the complete other direction, face almost as read as Rubicante's cloak. _Crap crap crap crap... why did I do that… _

Her panicked train of thought was abruptly stopped when Edge put his hand on her cheek and forced her to look at him. When she didn't offer any objections, he kissed her again.

Once it was finished, he wiped a tear off her face. "And here I thought I was the one who'd eventually make the first move," he said, smiling.

"Yeah, right. I'd be waiting years for that to happen, seeing as how you apparently don't have any guts," she teased.

"Well, at least I'm the first one to say that I love you," he said.

She scowled. "I was supposed to say that you idiot!"

"Were you?" Before she could say anything else, he kissed her again, this one lasting longer than the previous two. "So… what are you planning to do once we manage to defeat Golbez?" he asked when they pulled apart.

Rydia smirked. "Well, I was planning to visit the Feymarch before Cecil and Rosa finally get married, but I don't have anything else lined up. Do you have any suggestions?" she teased, knowing exactly what he was suggesting.

"Well, you can come to Eblan with me."

"I'll think about it," she grinned.

He shook his head. "That's the best I'm going to get, isn't it," he stated.

"Well, you're discounting the fact that we could easily be dead in the next few hours," the summoner pointed out.

"There's no way we'll be dead!" Edge denied. "Have you ever read or heard any fantasy stories? Good always triumphs in the end! How about this: you come back with me to Eblan if I'm right and we win, and if you're right, you have permission to say 'I told you so' in the afterlife."

Rydia rolled her eyes. "Fine, we'll go with that, only change 'the afterlife' to 'just before we die'."

"I'm going to regret asking this, but why do we need to change that?"

"Simple: _I've _been a good girl. You haven't exactly been the prime example on how a prince is supposed to act." He groaned as she grinned. "However, I trust that you won't let that happen, will you?"

He grinned back at her. "I won't. There's no way that Golbez won't be stopped. We have too much to fight for."

He stood up and stretched. "We should probably try and get some sleep. No doubt Cecil and Rosa will wake us up in a few hours saying that we forgot to do something extremely _important,_" he said, holding out a hand to help her up, which she took.

"No doubt," she smiled. She kissed him one more time and said, "I'll see you tomorrow," before walking back to her room, smiling the entire way.

She was still smiling as she, for the first time since she can remember, fell into a peaceful sleep.

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**And that's it for the first chapter. Honestly? I'm not too happy with it, but since this is about the third time I've ****redone it. I also don't really care about spelling errors at this point when I'm really a couple steps away from falling asleep.**

**Some of you may think that Edge is out of character. I don't think he is. I mean, come on- there's no way that he's ****not affected by what happened to his parents, even if he doesn't show it. I don't think that he'd let anyone figure it out unless they could understand, like Rydia can. There's also the fact that if you play the DS version and have him lead during the ****final dungeon he is pretty much freaking out. Seriously, at one point his thought bubble says "Why oh why can't I ****just run away and leave them here?".**

**Just so you know, I have 10 chapters ****planned for this. It may turn out to be more or even less than that. **

**When will the next chapter be up? I don't know. I am hoping for Sunday, but it may turn out to be later then that. I'm heading to the beach on Tuesday and then school starts the week after that. Please don't hate me if it takes too long, because I WILL finish this think this year. Though definitely not tonight. I am honestly about to pass out right now.**

**Please review! If I'm in a really, REALLY good mood and have it done, I might figure out some way to get it out this week, but only if I'm in a good mood. (Hint, hint)**


	2. Chapter II: Names

**Ugh, I'm not happy with this chapter. Seeing as how I don't ****know how much time I'll have to write this coming week, I guess it'll gave to do for now. I'll p****robably go back over it later.**

**Disclaimer: Do you actually think I own this?**

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**Chapter II: Names**

Edge was _terrified. _

Why? Rydia can now summon Bahamut. That means that the freaking Eidolon god is only a few words away from nuking any target of her choosing at any given moment, as a battle only a few minutes after

Maybe he should start writing his will, because there is no possible way that he won't irritate Rydia at some point in the future…

"Do either of you have any paper on you?" he asked the only other conscious members of the party after an _extremely _annoying battle against a Behemoth that had only been taken out after the aforementioned summon had nuked it.

Cecil and Fusoya shook their heads. "Out of curiosity, why?" the Paladin asked.

"I need to write my will before my inevitable demise from a Mega Nuke," Edge replied.

"Let's just get back to the Whale. I'm sure there's some paper for your unneeded will there," Cecil said, bending down to pick up Rosa and all but running back towards the entrance, Fusoya following.

"What do you mean unneeded?" the ninja shot back at Cecil's retreating back. He rolled his eyes, picked up Rydia, and all but ran out of the Lair of the Father before they could get attacked by another one of those things.

**~IV~**

Rydia yawned, sort of waking up after passing out during the battle with the Behemoth. After staring at the ceiling of her assigned room of the Lunar Whale for a few minutes, trying to summon the will to move, she became aware of someone muttering to himself and scratching things out on paper.

She rolled over onto her side seeing- as she had suspected- Edge sitting in a chair by the wall, a closed book in his hands and writing something on a piece of paper. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

Edge immediately looked up the moment the first word left her mouth. "Rydia! Are you feeling better?" he asked, looking relieved.

She nodded, sitting up and stretching. "I don't feel like I got slammed into a cavern wall, so no. Did Rosa heal me?"

"Nope. She got knocked out in the same attack as you. Cecil used the last of his magic power to heal us," the ninja answered, standing up and walking over to sit next to her on the bed.

"Why didn't he just revive us?" Rydia asked, confused.

"The old geezer said that that area had quite a few Behemoths. We didn't really want to take the time to do that when we could get attacked by another one of those things at any moment."

"Oh… anyway, what were you doing when I woke up?" the summoner asked.

"Writing my will," he replied, acting like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said that we wouldn't die. Have you changed your mind?" she said, trying to keep from smirking.

"No, I still think that we'll survive fighting Gol- I mean, Zemus. However, me dying from getting nuked by Bahamut due to annoying you too much might happen now."

Rydia smirked. "While the idea sounds tempting, I'd miss you too much to do that. Besides, you'd die too quickly if I were to do that. It'd be much better if summoned Leviathan. _That _would teach you a lesson," she said.

Edge looked appropriately terrified as she laughed.

"Anyway," she said once she managed to stop laughing, "can I look at it?"

"I'm going to regret it, but fine," he replied, getting up and grabbing the list from where he had left it and handed it to her.

She started to read it, stopping once she read a certain piece of information. "Your real name is _Edward?_" she asked in disbelief.

He groaned. "That's why I said I would regret letting you read it."

"Edward," she repeated, making sure she had read it right.

"Yes, my real name is Edward. Now can we please forget that my parents decided to name me that and pretend that you never saw that?" Edge begged.

"Don't worry, I won't call you that," Rydia assured him. "I already know someone with that name and no better nickname to replace it. However, exactly how did you get the nickname Edge?"

He opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it, a confused expression on his face. "You know… I can't actually remember. I've been going by Edge since I was really little. And by 'little' I mean 'younger than you technically are'."

"Maybe someone wrote it down somewhere?" she suggested.

"I'll check after all this is over," he said. "Anyway, now that we've got that done, you can finish reading it if you want."

"Okay."

_The will of the epically awesome ninja prince of Eblan, Edge Geraldine (whose parents for some reason decided to make his actual name be Edward, but no one dares calls him that)_

_In the event that I die while saving the world or from annoying the summoner Rydia too much, my following possessions will go to:_

_-My awesome katana collection goes to Zangetsu_

_-Rydia gets any jewelry that I inherited from my parents and any books that I own_

_-Any other swords that I have can go to Cecil Harvey of Baron_

_-Izayoi is in charge of Eblan and also gets those antique bows_

_-Also, someone tell Gekkou to look after and train Tsukinowa for me_

_Anything else can be fought over by whoever wants it._

Rydia looked up at him when she finished. "Who are the other people you mentioned in here?" she asked, deciding not to comment on the last line for now.

"Zangetsu and Gekkou are officially my bodyguards, but they're more my friends due to the fact that I'm way to good to need them." he ignored Rydia's snort. "Izayoi is my cousin.

"You have a cousin?" Rydia asked, surprised.

"Yep, although I haven't seen her since my parents sent her to Baron a couple years ago. Tsukinowa is what you could probably consider my apprentice, seeing as how he's a talented kid that I look after."

"Oh no," Rydia mock groaned, "Edge has an apprentice! The world is doomed!"

Edge rolled his eyes, but before he could reply, someone knocked at the door. "Come in!" he hollored instead.

Rosa opened the door. "Oh good, you're both here," she said. "We're almost back to the planet. Cecil and Fusoya are already by the crystal."

"Okay, we'll be there in a couple minutes," Rydia told her. The white mage nodded and left.

Edge got off the bed and grabbed his swords, tossing her her whip while he was at it. "Let's go. I'll tell you more about them later if you want," he told her.

"I'd like that," she smiled.

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**I think Cecil is OOC in the beginning... Lets just blame it on the ****Behemoth. (I hate those ****things.) The whole will thing is just something that my mind came up with for some reason. **

**This chapter just seems to be a filler chapter- it doesn't add to the plot at all and just shows some snarkiness between the two of them. I promise that the next one shall be far better. I'll give you a hint: it's after the Giant explodes.**

**And yes, I'm adding in the Eblan Four. Why? Because I can. However, they're getting new backgrounds- or rather, backgrounds. Also, I didn't come up with the idea of Izayoi and Edge being cousins. Just felt like I should say that. **

**Just so you know, school starts tomorrow, so I don't know exaactly when I'll have time to write. I hope to have the next chapter up by next ****Sunday at the latest, though. Either way, review! I will be grateful!**


	3. Chapter III: Assurance

**I'm as surprised as you are on the early update... Please don't s****tart expecting it.**

**Disclaimer: Edge and Rydia would have gotten together if i owned it. I am writing this fic, so obviously...**

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**Chapter III: Assurance **

"_This is work for grownups. You just wait for us back here."_

Edge thought he should cut out his own tongue for saying that as he replayed that conversation later that night.

Yes, he wanted Rydia to be safe- well, as safe as she could get seeing as the world could be destroyed at any moment- but he could have- no, _should have _phrased that better.

Besides, she and Rosa most likely disobeyed Cecil and stayed on board instead of leaving like he told them to. As much as he loved her determination that set her apart from almost every other girl on the planet, this is the first- and hopefully last- time that he wished that she was more like them.

He sighed, standing up after realizing that there was no way that he'd be able to fall asleep until he found and apologized to her for his words. He hesitated for a moment, then took off his mask. He had a feeling that keeping it on wouldn't help matters. He left the room in search of her, almost hoping that he was right about her staying.

And if he was wrong and she hadn't stayed behind… well, he's run on less sleep before.

**~IV~**

Rydia rolled over on her makeshift bed in one of the empty rooms of the airship for what felt like the thousandth time since she had lain down, her thoughts occupied by- yet again- a stupid ninja prince.

_Why did he have to say that? _she thought. _Being worried about someone doesn't equal insulting them… especially about something that's truer than you'd think… _

She sighed, deciding to consult her adoptive mother. She spoke the words to summon Asura and within only a minute, the Queen of the Eidolons appeared in front of her in her human guise. "I was wondering how long it would take for you to call me," the queen spoke, sitting down beside her. "Tell me what happened."

Rydia did, unable to stop the tears from falling. "The thing is," she said once she had finished, "I can understand why Cecil ordered us away. We really might not come back this time. But… why did he tell me that? Was he lying when he told me that he loved me?"

Asura pulled her into a hug. "I do not believe that he was lying," she comforted her. "He is probably just worried about you."

"Good way of showing that," the summoner mumbled.

"I do think that he wasn't thinking when he said that- which seems to be a habit of his," Asura dryly stated. Rydia had to smile a bit at that, because that was one of the first things she had figured out about him. "However, I do believe that he's currently beating himself up over his words," she continued. "Maybe talking to him would help. In fact, you may not have much of a choice in the matter."

Rydia pulled away from the summon to look at her with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out," was her only answer. "You should probably see if you can get some sleep. You will probably need it before long."

Rydia nodded, saying, "Thank you," before dismissing the queen.

She had only been alone for a minute, wondering what Asura meant by not having a choice in the matter, when she heard someone fall from the piece of wood she had found and set in the hallway to warn her if someone was coming. Instead of hiding like she had planned to do if someone came close, she froze, hearing someone that she knew well curse in a completely different language

She quickly thought over her extremely few options. She could still hide, but he'd probably notice her and catch her anyway. She could sneak up behind him and knock him out, which was just laughable. That really only left one option and Asura did suggest it…

Rydia stayed where she was as the door opened, revealing that her visitor was who she had thought it was.

Edge took one look at her before looking down at his feet. "I knew it," he said, sounding completely defeated.

"Why did you tell me that?" she asked, refusing to look at him.

He sighed, walking a step further into the room and shutting the door behind him. "Because I'm an idiot," he said, deciding to just get that out of the way first.

"Yes, you are," she snarled. "You think that you're better than either of us, that everyone is worthless compared to you."

He shook his head, still not looking right at her. "I may act like I do, but I don't actually completely think that," he said.

"Oh, really?" she sarcastically asked.

"Really," he answered, finally meeting her eyes. "While I admit that I should not have said that, I won't apologize for wanting you to have stayed on the ground like Cecil told you and Rosa to."

"Why?" she spat at him. "Is it because you feel like we're not needed? Rosa is pretty much our only healer because Cecil is usually busy fighting the enemies, and I'm the last summoner!"

"It's not that!" he almost yelled. "We're fighting against something that managed to control Golbez for _years_ and even him leave his brother to die! He could easily control you and make you do something even worse! I already had to see my parents kill themselves in front of me because of what Lugae did to them, and I don't want to have to defeat the woman I love because of Zemus!" He stopped, and then said in almost a whisper, "I don't want to lose you."

She looked at him, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Edge… do you think that I don't feel the same way? That I wouldn't spend all of my time being terrified that you won't make it out alive?" she asked, looking down at her feet. "I've lost people I care about too. I don't think I could handle someone else dying."

Edge was suddenly kneeling in front of her, wiping away a tear that had managed to escape. "We really misunderstood each other, didn't we?" he said, a rueful smile on his face.

"Yes, we did," she answered.

He sighed, then said, "Fine, you can stay. I may not like it, but since going back to the planet just to leave you and Rosa there would waste time that we don't have I don't have much of a choice. There's also the fact that you wouldn't listen to me no matter what I said."

"That is very true," she smiled, reaching out and hugging him. "It doesn't help that most of your ideas are just plain stupid."

"Hey! That plan to defeat those stupid walls back in the Sealed Cave was my idea!"

"No it wasn't. Rosa accidentally cast reflect on Cecil, so it was technically her plan," she teased.

They laughed, most of the tension leaving them. "And don't worry; my love of justice is too high for Zemus to even think about possessing me," Edge assured her.

"More like your stupidity," she teased. "However, if Zemus does try to control me, I will resist him. I have too much to fight for," she said, leaning over and kissing him.

"So do I," he said before kissing her back.

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**Yes, I had Edge figure out that Rydia is still on the Lunar Whale. Honestly, this could possibly happen- Edge is a good enough actor to act ****surprised that she's still there. Besides, this fic is going to be full of some kind of fluff between the two. Deal with it. (And I don't know how Rosa would accidentally cast a spell...)**

**Like I s****aid before, please don't expect me to get the next chapter up until this weekend. If I do post it, please yell at me to do school work. Please. (Or to go to sleep- I keep posting at 10 at night for some reason.) Either way, please review!**


	4. Chapter IV: After the Battle

**There is now an OC character slot for all fandoms. Fanfiction, what have you done… **

**Disclaimer: Yep. Definitely own a JRPG when I can't even speak Japanese.**

**Chapter IV: After the Battle**

"They couldn't have just warped us back to the Lunar Whale?" Edge complained, looking back at the other three. Rydia would have rolled her eyes at him, but let's face it, all of them were thinking that.

"At least they healed us," Cecil said, all but dragging an almost unconscious Rosa with him, Kain not too far behind them. "We're almost at that rest area. We can just use one of those emergency exits when we get there."

Edge muttered something in some other language, making Rydia look over at him, wondering what he said. _Note to self: ask him to teach me whatever language he's speaking in._

The group had barely entered the rest chamber when Cecil finally collapsed, Rosa landing on top of him. Kain looked at his two best friends, shrugged, yanked off his helmet, and laid down a few feet away, leaving Rydia and Edge the only conscious people in the Subterrane.

Edge groaned. "Those emergency exits don't work on unconscious people, do they?" he asked.

Rydia shrugged. "I really don't know, but they won't bring us all the way to the Whale either way."

"So, we're pretty much stuck here until they wake up."

"Yep."

"Just great," he groaned, lying down on the cavern floor. "We'll be here forever then."

"I thought that you'd jump at a chance to sleep after that battle," she said, laying down and using him as a pillow.

"Nah, the floor's too hard."

"Yet, you're lying on it?" she teased.

"Laying on hard rock and sleeping on it are two completely different things," he said, staring up at the ceiling. "Besides, I'm too lazy to drag my pillow out of my bag." Rydia rolled her eyes but didn't say anything.

The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes, Rydia almost drifting to sleep before Edge said in disbelief, "We won."

She sat up to look at him. "Of course we did. I thought that you were the one that was so sure of that."

"Saying that everything will be okay is not the same as completely believing it."

"What do you mean?" she asked, frowning.

"Well," he said, eyes still focused on the ceiling, "considering how I was trying not to think about what's happening back on the planet and thinking about you either made me freak out even more or made my mind start going in the gutter- which I doubt you would appreciate- I had some time to think about what we were doing."

Rydia stared at him, shocked at what he said. _He was completely scared about what was happening, and he never even gave a hint of what he was thinking… _"Why didn't you say anything?" she asked.

"Would you really have wanted me to tell you that I was terrified?" he asked, looking at her.

"I… don't know," she admitted. "However, you still could've said something."

He shrugged. "Either way, guess who won the bet?" he said, sitting up and smirking at her.

The summoner looked at him, confused, until she realized what he was talking about. "I- I never told you that I would come with you!" she yelped, face bright red.

"Yes, you did. You said 'fine' and made a joke about how I wouldn't get to the afterlife," he said, still smirking.

"I just…" she began, the trailed off, trying to figure out why she was so hesitant.

"Hey, I'm not in too much of a hurry," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "The castle still needs some work before we can move back."

She shook her head. "I don't even know why I'm so hesitant," she admitted. "It's just such a big change for me."

"I definitely understand the feeling. I almost don't want to go back. There's just too many…" he said, trailing off at the end.

"Too many memories," she finished for him, smiling sadly.

They looked at each other, each understanding what the other felt.

"Anyway, you don't have to decide now," he said after a moment. "Think about it, and give me your answer either in a letter or when Cecil and Rosa decide to get married."

"I'll do that," she smiled.

"By the way, since I assume that you're going back to the Feymarch, please tell me that you won't… umm…"

"Age another 10 years?" she asked. When he sheepishly nodded, she smiled and said, "Don't worry. Leviathan can change the time flow whenever he wants to. However, he can only do it for a few months at a time."

"Oh," he said, relieved. "I'd still love you anyway, but if you actually aged that much you'd suddenly be around seven years older than me and that would just be... awkward?"

Rydia rolled her eyes for the thousandth time at the ninja, but decided against saying anything.

He looked at their companions. "It's been about fifteen minutes. Do you think we should wake them up so we can go back and sleep in what passes for a bed? Or do you think that we should just leave a note for them?

"Let's try to wake them up first. If they don't wake up, I really need some sleep. You can do the honors."

Edge grinned. "Gladly."

**~IV~**

_Two days later in Mysidia~_

"So.. I guess this is goodbye?" Rydia asked Edge, pausing in front of the door to his room in the Mysidian inn.

He looked up at her, getting up from where he had been sitting on the bed. "Actually, I wouldn't call this goodbye."

"Then what would you call it?" she asked looking up at him.

"What would _you _call it?" he asked.

"I don't know," she said, hugging him and burring her face into his chest. "I'll miss you," she said.

"The feeling is definitely mutual," he said, hugging her back. "Don't worry, we'll see each other sooner then you think. I doubt Cecil and Rosa will hold off their wedding for too long."

Rydia smiled. "And then you won't be able to get rid of me."

He pulled back to look at her. "I thought you said-"

"That I was still thinking about it?" she cut him off. "Well, I've thought about it."

He grinned, pulled off his mask, and kissed her. When they broke apart, he said, "Now I have something to look forward to."

She shook her head, grinning. "Just don't let your mind go into the gutter."

"I make no promises," Edge teased. She rolled her eyes and mock-hit him, causing the two to laugh.

"Well, I'll see you soon, then," she said.

"It better be soon," he said.

The two shared another kiss, then smiled at each other as Rydia walked away.

* * *

**I don't really like that ending... Meh, I'll go back and change it if I think of something better. **

**The whole thing about Leviathan being able to change the time in the Feymarch is kinda a cop-out, but I needed some explanation as to why they let Rydia come back before the wedding, and I did put a limit on it...**

**So, I have a question. last time I looked at the views this fic has, it was over 200. I have nowhere near that umber of reviews. So... REVIEW! It won't take too much of your time! (Especially considering the fact that this isn't that long.)**


	5. Chapter V: Letters

**Since I am in such a good mood right now (I finally got new pillows! :D), I will force the apocalypse upon you guys and post two days in a row.**

…**Okay, I am in a good mood, but the new chapter is pretty much because I had nothing to do in English and History today. It wasn't planned. At all. Someone mentioned sending letters to a friend of theirs over the summer, and this just sort of… happened. It's pretty much just filler. **

**For the record, Rydia's letters are in italics while Edge's are normal.**

**Disclaimer: Hah. As if.**

* * *

**Chapter V: Letters**

_Edge,_

_So apparently Cid left the Falcon for the dwarves. Please tell me I'm not the only one that thinks that this is completely out of character for him…_

_Anyway, there's something that's been bothering me for a while… Does Eblan have a different language? I've heard you mutter things that I can't understand._

_-Rydia_

* * *

Really?

I appreciate hearing from you, but you just went through the effort to send me a letter asking me one question? And you didn't even ask me how I am doing. Thanks.

Anyway, to answer your question, while there is a different language, no one really uses it anymore. The only reason I know it is because my parents forced me to sit through and learn it. Let me guess: you want to learn it.

-Love the awesome ninja

P.S. That is out of character

* * *

_And you get onto me about short letters?_

_Yes, I kinda do want to learn it. Is that a problem?_

_Anyway, do you remember Luca? The daughter of the dwarf king? Wait, of course you do. She is a girl after all._

_She somehow managed to animate two of her dolls… I have no clue how she did it…_

_Really? Awesome ninja?_

* * *

As if it was fate, I found a book on Eblanese a few hours after I got your letter. I sent it to you. It's a little damaged, but still readable. Just don't tell the Seneschal that I gave it to you. He was going on and on about something relating to books. I stopped listening after a couple minutes.

Why do you assume that I know every single girl's name? I don't have _that _good of a memory.

Why are you asking me how she did it? I don't have a clue.

Speaking of unexplainable events, you'll never guess what Tsukinowa did. He somehow managed to hang himself by the back of his shirt from a bare wall for around half an hour. Even I never managed to figure out how to do something like that.

You're right!

-Love the _epically_ awesome ninja

* * *

_Thank you so much! Don't worry, I'll bring it back. _

_You should listen to the Seneschal._

…_How did he…? Never mind. I don't want to know. How old is Tsukinowa?_

_By the way, Leviathan told me to tell you that if you do anything to hurt me Eblan will have to find a new ruler because there will be nothing left of you._

_-Love the person who can summon Bahamut_

* * *

Please tell Leviathan that he has no need to worry…

Listen to a guy over twice my age prattle on about books for a couple hours straight? Like you wouldn't tune out after a few minutes.

Tsuki turned twelve a week and a half ago. Does that explain his behavior?

By the way, guess what? Eblan castle is now mostly inhabitable! Now if you have to (aka if Cecil and Rosa take forever to get married) you can come stay here!

-Love the… um… I got nothing better than that

* * *

_That was fast. It's only been around two months._

_Holy… has it really only been two months since we fought Zemus? It feels like just yesterday…_

_-Love Rydia_

* * *

I definitely understand the feeling. I looked at the Seneschal for a good couple minutes when he mentioned that it's been close to five months since we were forced into the caves. I thought it was less time…

So, why didn't you tell me that your birthday is this month?! I had to hear it from Rosa! Anyway, I sent you a gift. I hope you like it. I now expect something in October.

-Love, Edge

P.S. Cid is apparently just loaning the Falcon to them. I finally got an answer from Rosa.

* * *

_I completely forgot about my birthday… But thank you! The necklace is beautiful._

_You actually had amazing timing. I picked it up from the dwarves on my bitrthday._

_Edge, at the rate you're going, you won't get anything for your birthday._

_-Love the birthday girl_

* * *

You're welcome.

* * *

_Really Edge? TWO words? And you got onto me for not asking how you are? Hypocrite._

_Anyway, Cecil and Rosa are FINALLY getting married in two and a half weeks, and she asked me to come early. I'll see you then._

_-Love an irritated Rydia_

* * *

I am NOT a hypocrite! I didn't have any time to rewrite it after the Seneschal mistook it for trash and 'accidently' threw it in the fire! The airship to the Underworld only leaves around every few days, you know.

Yeah, it took the two of them long enough, didn't it? However, I won't be getting there until the day of the ceremony, so you'll have to somehow survive a few extra days without you're epically awesome ninja prince.

-Love the epically awesome monster-slaying ruler of Eblan, Edge Geraldine

* * *

…_Just out of curiosity, why did I agree to marry you again? Oh well._

_Anyway, I'll see you then. Try not to go insane with the wait._

_-Love Rydia_

* * *

**Random plot bunnies that sort of add something to a story FTW! Eblan has a different language because I said so. Rydia's birthday is in July, btw. I gave them birthdays for a couple reasons.**

**Anyways, as you might have gathered, the next chapter will be Cecil and Rosa's wedding. There will be tons of fluff.**


	6. Chapter VI: Proposal

**Warning: This chapter contains massive amounts of Edge/Rydia fluff. If you are allergic to that, get out. Now. You have been warned.**

**I also found the perfect way to describe this pairing. You'll see it.**

**Disclaimer: We've been through this…**

* * *

**Chapter VI: Proposing**

"Does this look okay?" Rosa asked nervously, looking at herself in the mirror.

"Rosa, for the hundredth time, you look amazing even if your hair isn't done," Rydia told the soon-to-be queen. "I'll be happy if I look half as amazing as you when I get married."

The white mage looked at her, a smirk forming on her face. "You said _when, _not _if,_" she pointed out. "Did Edge finally ask you to marry him?"

"R-Rosa!" Rydia yelped, turning bright red.

"What? You said that you were getting married. I haven't seen you interact with any other guys but Cecil, Edge, Kain, Yang, Edward, and Cid. Cecil is obviously out. Kain… he may be my best friend, but I don't see it happening. Yang is married. Edward is still coping with loosing Anna, and Cid is over twice your age. That really only leaves one option."

"That doesn't mean anything," she mumbled. "I do want to get married one day, and so said when. Doesn't necessarily mean that it will be soon."

"Oh, really?" Rosa dryly asked.

"Really. Now will you and Cecil stop shipping us together?" the summoner asked.

"We only try to push you together because you can cut he tension between you two with a knife," she said. "Actually, scratch that. Only Bahamut could break through it."

Rydia just facepalmed and didn't say anything else.

"Anyway, are you sure this looks okay?" Rosa asked.

Rydia sighed, but was thankfully saved from answering yet again by a knock on the door and Rosa's mother coming in. "Rosa, are you ready to do your hair?" she asked her daughter.

"Yes, I am," she said, the turned to Rydia. "You should probably go get ready. We all know there's someone you want to impress tonight."

Rydia blushed again, and left the room saying, "Yeah, right."

**~IV~**

"Can I point out that that maybe Cecil should've gotten a silver crown instead of a golden one?" Edge whispered to Rydia after the ceremony had ended and the guests were heading to the dining room.

"Are you joking?" Rydia asked. "Actually, I don't want to know. Anyway, do you know what I found out while here?"

"What?"

"We never told anyone that we were together. And they have a bet going on about when we'll get married."

"I'm not surprised," Edge sighed. "Please tell me that Cid won't win."

"What do you have against Cid?" Rydia asked.

"He does not treat me with any respect," he answered, acting like it was obvious.

"Oh, you deserve respect?" Rydia teased. "Don't worry, he won't win. He said it would take seventeen years for us to spit it out."

He groaned. "Nice to know he has faith in my ability to spit out my feelings."

"Actually, I was the one that admitted that I love you, so maybe he's not that far off."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me. Your last-" Edge began, but was cut off by Palom entering the room.

"You do know that there's a bunch of free food, right?" the black mage asked.

His twin appeared and smacked him. "I apologize for my brother. He does not think before saying anything," Porom said, bowing to the two and dragging her twin out of the room by his braid.

Edge sighed. "How much do you want to bet Cid put him up to that?" When Rydia didn't reply, he turned to her, noticing that her entire face was bright red. "Rydia?"

"What were you going to say?" the summoner asked, not looking at him.

"I'll tell you later. Cid might send someone else in at any moment," he said. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Y-yeah," Rydia stammered, following him to the dining room.

**~IV~**

"By the way, I met Izayoi yesterday. She's actually very nice," Rydia casually said during dessert.

"Great," Edge groaned. "The two most dangerous girls I know are now friends. I'm doomed."

"Who's Izayoi?" Cecil asked.

"Edge's cousin," Rydia answered before the ninja could.

"You have a cousin?" Rosa asked, surprised.

"Believe it or not, I do." Edge answered, and then asked Rydia, "She's mad at me, isn't she?"

"As a matter of fact she is," was the answer. "She asked me to tell you that if you don't take her back with you to Eblan, you'll have to be guarded every single moment of the day because she'll maim you otherwise."

"I don't know what I'm more scared of- Izzy's threat or the fact that you actually sound happy at the thought," Edge said, taking a long drink of his wine.

"Oh, so it's not only Rydia that has you trained, is it? Anyway, I think that it's time for the dancing!" Cid announced, ignoring Edge's glare.

The guests all got up and started to head to the ballroom, following the new King and Queen. Rydia started to follow them, but Edge stopped her, motioning her to follow him. Rydia sighed, but followed him, realizing that she wouldn't be able to get out of this conversation.

The two walked silently through the corridors, eventually reaching a door to one of the balconies. Edge pushed open the door, holding it open for Rydia. She immediately went to look out over Baron town. "They definitely seem to be happy, don't they?" she asked, gesturing to the parades going on.

"Well, considering the fact that they now have rulers that are probably not going to be replaced by one of the Four Fiends, I'd say they have reason to be happy," he said, moving to stand next to her.

"They do," Rydia smiled.

"So… about your last letter…" he started to say, but was cut off by her saying, "What letter?"

"You know what letter," Edge said, giving her a look.

"I-I wasn't thinking when I wrote that," Rydia said, looking down at the town.

"Why are you so embarrassed?" he asked her. "I definitely wasn't subtle about my intentions when I asked you to come to Eblan with me."

"It's just that… I… I really don't know," she said.

"If it helps, you did make things easier on me. I mean, now I don't actually have to propose now," he said, grinning.

She lightly slapped him, but wasn't able to keep a grin off her face. "Yeah, right. I don't count me not thinking when writing a letter to be a proposal."

"Eh, it was worth a shot. But seriously, did you think that we were going anywhere else?" he asked.

"Not really," Rydia said. "I am just mad at myself for putting that when I don't know if I'm even able to come to Eblan after this.

"Why would you think that?"

"Because, other than saying that the castle is mostly finished, you haven't really said anything about what's going on in your letters," she said.

"Really? We're back on the short letters now? If I remember correctly, you are also guilty of that." Edge asked, smirking.

"You know what I mean."

"I didn't say anything because, other than an argument with the Seneschal, there hasn't been anything that you should worry about," he said.

Rydia frowned. "What was the argument about?" she asked.

He sighed. "A little while after we moved back into the castle, he _suggested _that I s find a queen so that I could have an heir. I told him that even if I wasn't already in love with someone I wouldn't marry just because of that."

"Why do I have a feeling that it wasn't phrased like that?" she asked, trying not to cry from relief that her fears weren't true.

"Well, I did add in add in few choice words," he admitted.

The ninja stumbled a bit when Rydia suddenly threw her arms around him, but he quickly recovered and hugged her back. "Maybe I should have told you that in a letter if you were so worried," he said. "Anyway, since you are forcing me to actually ask you, will you marry me, Rydia?"

"Do I really need to answer that?" she asked him. "But yes, I will," she said, reaching up and kissing him.

"At least now we're finally on the same page," he said, grinning when they pulled apart. Rydia nodded, smiling.

"Do you think we should actually head to the ballroom now?" she asked.

"Probably. No one has come looking for us yet, but that could change at any point."

**~IV~**

"Have you noticed that the two of them seem to be happier now than before they disappeared?" Cecil asked his wife, pointing to the pair on the dance floor.

"I somehow think that we won't have to push them together now," Rosa said, smiling at the couple. "Now we only have to wait for them to announce it to everyone."

Rydia noticed the newlyweds staring at them. "You know, I think that they've figured it out," she pointed out to her fiancé.

"I can't actually bring myself to care," Edge said, smiling down at her.

* * *

**I warned y****ou. **

**I was planning to add in the part where Edge ignores her, but that obviously didn't happen. Oh well. **

**Anyway, I have a three-day weekend because of Labor day, so I hope that I'll be able to post the next chapter on Monday. **


	7. Chapter VII: Home

**Two words: writer's block. That is my explanation for not getting it out sooner.**

**Anyway, I have good news and bad news. The bad news (because that always goes first) is that, due to the illness known as writer's block, this is the last chapter. I actually planned there to be another chapter involving Rydia going to Mist, but that will have to be an oneshot.**

**The good news is that I have several oneshots/short fics based on this sort of AU I've created here planned, AND I have planned out my rewrite of the After Years, so this won't be the last you will see from me in this fandom.**

**By the way, what's the name for people from Baron? Baronians? Baronites? Whatever. I'll go with the first one.**

**Disclaimer: Please direct me to the dimension that I own Final Fantasy. I will be eternally grateful.**

**Chapter VII: Home**

In retrospect, they probably should not have been making out in the hallway.

They had actually managed to keep the fact that they were together from their friends for five days after the wedding, which was impressive considering the fact that Cecil and Rosa seemed to be doing all that they can to get them together. Well, to be fair, Cecil had had some kind of realization and went to drag Kain back from… wherever he had gone two days ago, and the two had gone to Mist the day before, but still…

But that all ended when Rosa and Cecil caught them kissing in the hallway leading to Rydia's room, and now she and Edge were trying not to murder them and leave Baron without a ruler again.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Cecil asked them, grinning.

"A while. Why exactly do you care?" Rydia asked, not very happy with them.

"We're trying to figure out who won-" Rosa started to say, Cecil hurriedly covering her mouth with his hand.

"They don't know about that!" he said.

"Are you guys talking about the bet you have going on about when we'll get together?" Edge asked. "Honestly, from what Rydia said, you didn't seem to be trying to keep it a secret."

"How'd you hear us?" Cecil asked Rydia in disbelief.

"You two probably should have talked about it someplace other than the main hallway on the first floor," was Rydia's answer. She frowned. "Just out of curiosity, what did you guys bet that's made you so desperate to know who won?"

"Don't change the subject," Cecil said.

"Actually, you're the one who changed the subject."

"Anyway," the Paladin said, ignoring Edge, "You're not getting out of this subject easily. I locked the door and it will not be opened again until you tell us exactly when and how the two of you got together."

Edge grimaced and looked over at Rydia seeing the same look on her face. "I think that this calls for some desperate measures," she told him.

He nodded and looked back at the Baronians. "I'll give you credit for thinking this through, but you forgot one detail."

"And what is that?" Rosa asked, feeling like she was going to regret asking.

He grinned. "You're dealing with an epically awesome Ninja." With that, he grabbed Rydia and warped out of the room.

They appeared in the stairway leading to the first floor. "Next time, could you maybe warn me before warping?" Rydia complained, pulling away from Edge and walking down the stairs.

"Hey, I got us away from those shippers," Edge defensively said.

The two didn't say anything until they got out of the castle, when Rydia asked, "So what now, O epically awesome ninja?"

"You actually called me that!" Edge grinned.

"Do you understand sarcasm?"

"Of course I do. Do you actually think that I'm an idiot?"

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

At this point a third voice cut in. "And of course I run into you two in the middle of an argument."

Edge and Rydia turned to see Kain standing a few feet away from them. "Oh, Kain. I didn't see you there." Edge said.

"No one does. Anyway, there was some kind of ninja girl looking for you at the bar. She said something about going back to Eblan and killing you if you don't find her."

Edge facepalmed. "I knew there was something I forgot to do," he groaned. "Did she tell you her name?"

"I think she said it was… Izayoi? Or at least I think that's how she pronounced it…"

"Drat. Well, seeing as I rather like living, I think I'll go find my cousin."

Kain stared at Edge as he walked away. "He has a cousin? There are two of them?"

"Yep," Rydia confirmed.

"I'm going to go write my will," the Dragoon said, shaking his head and heading into the castle.

"If you see either Cecil or Rosa, please tell them that you won," Rydia said, heading into Baron town.

Kain grinned. "Maybe Cecil was right about my luck changing," he said to himself, heading off to collect his reward.

**~IV~**

Three weeks later, after Edge got punched by his cousin, Kain convinced his friends that he actually won the bet, the Seneschal almost had a heart attack, and Rydia had sort of gotten used to living in Eblan (or rather, gotten used to Tsukinowa doing extremely weird things on a daily basis), the two of them _finally _got married.

"I think I'm more entitled to the word 'finally' than you," Rosa pointed out to her friend. "I mean, I've been in love with Cecil for years, and you didn't even know Edge existed a few months ago."

Rydia glared at the Queen of Baron, but didn't say anything, instead turning back to look at herself in the mirror.

"Are you nervous?" Rosa asked her.

She shook her head. "I'm more shocked that this is even happening," she said. "It seems like just yesterday that I arrived in the Feymarch as a little girl that had pretty much lost everything, and now I'm getting married."

"I can understand," the white mage said. "I was thinking something similar during my wedding."

"I can't say anything about it because I'm not even in a relationship," Izayoi said, having just come into the room. "Are you ready? Because I seriously think Edge is going to faint if he has to wait any longer, and as entertaining as that would be, I'd rather not deal with the aftermath."

Rydia took a deep breath, then nodded and started to follow Izayoi out of the room when Rosa stopped her. "Just so you know, you look better than I did at my wedding," Rosa told her, smiling. "I doubt that Edge is going to have second thoughts once he sees you."

"He better not," Rydia said, blushing at the praise.

**~IV~**

Edge was honestly surprised that his heart hadn't stopped beating when he saw Rydia. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her throughout the entire ceremony, and had to be reminded to say what he needed to say. Even throughout the rest of the evening, he could barely look away.

Eventually, the two were able to sneak away from the festivities and go to their room. Edge plopped down on the bed, still trying to wrap his mind around the events of the day. "I still can't believe that this happened," he said.

"Neither can I," Rydia said, attempting to get out of her dress. "I actually have far more reason than you to be shocked over this, considering all that's happened to me." She paused, then added, "I really never even fantasized about any of this happening when Asura and Leviathan told me that I would have to find a home somewhere else."

Edge got up, walked over to her, and put his arms around her. "I'm happy that you found your home. I really am"

She smiled. "Are you sure that you aren't biased?" she teased.

"Maybe a little bit," he grinned, leaning down and kissing her. She complied, still smiling.

Edge wasn't deluding himself into thinking that things would be perfect from here on out, but he really didn't care.

Maybe it wasn't just Rydia who truly found a place to belong.

**Wow. I hate those last two lines. At this point I don't completely care though.**

**Before you guys track me down and murder me for not writing about the wedding, I would like to say that the last time I went to a wedding was several years ago, and I barely remember anything about it, and I didn't want to ruin this story by adding in a crappy rendition of a ceremony. **

**Anyway, I am in shock. Did I actually just finish a story? I'll let you know how I feel later when the shock wears off.**

**Just so you know, you can start to expect Planet Eater (TAY rewrite) to be up once I post the oneshot explaining how Cecil managed to drag Kain off of Mt. Ordeals.**

**I would like to thank all of you who read all of this. Yes, even those of you who didn't review, favorite, or follow it. I at least knew that people were reading it.**

**Thank you!**

**~Brightcrest**


End file.
